Springtime in South Prairie

This afternoon the weather was so beautiful, I felt compelled to throw my leg over my motorcycle and ride to the nearby country town of Orting, in the Puyallup Valley, Washington State, USA. I took some drawing work with me and plugged into the Wi-Fi at Orting McDonald's and worked on my drawing. 

Upon finishing my artwork, I decided to keep riding, so I headed southeast out of Orting on Highway 162 to one of my favorite spots, South Prairie, a rural community in the shadow of Mount Rainier.

To my surprise, I found the meadows along the highway were ablaze with spring wildflowers. I know the montane, sub-alpine and alpine wildflower varieties, but I'm not very familiar with the lowland wildflowers. My best guess is that the white and purple flowers are valerians. But I only know the Sitka valerian that grows in the subalpine zone of the Olympic Moutains in Washington State.

I wish I knew for sure what these beautiful golden flowers are. Many of the fields and meadows along the road were carpeted with them. Upon further checking, it appears that this is a wild mustard field.

More mustard fields, this time with a herd of cattle. I only spent about 45 minutes in South Prairie today before I felt I needed to ride back home. It was a memorable motorcycle adventure.

It's easy to see by the above photos why I'm so glad I live in Washington State. I never take for granted the lush pastoral beauty that is rural Washington, my home state. I hope you enjoyed the pictures.

Have you seen my other blog, The Trowbridge Chronicles?

A Day in the Life

It's time to take a break from the Little Beasties I've been posting recently and introduce to you my unconventional movable work style. Most people sit in their studio working all day. Not me. Been there, done that for many years. I've read many illustrators complain of the feeling of isolation with working alone in their studio as a freelancer. 

If the sun's out, I fill my saddlebags with my drawing and writing materials, then climb on my motorcycle and head for the beach or the mountains and spend my day "working" there. If it's cloudy or rainy, I head for Starbucks or any of a number of nearby coffee shops. I still spend a lot of time at my office on the phone and answering emails. But as soon as I get the business stuff out of the way, I leave my office and go somewhere to get my drawing and writing done. I do return to the office to do my Photoshop/Wacom coloring. But all of my drawing and writing is done outside of my studio.

Today my destination is South Prairie, Washington, a small town in the Cascade foothills of the Puget Sound region of Washington State. I will pass through the pleasant Puyallup Valley town of Orting on my ride to South Prairie. Mount Rainier looms in the distance (above) from the town center of Orting. The population density drops considerably after you leave Orting. The scenery along Route 162 between Orting and South Prairie is postcard pastoral.

The Carbon River is born on Carbon Glacier on the slopes of Mount Rainier. This is the river as it appears in the upper Puyallup Valley, between Orting and South Prairie. It joins the Puyallup River downstream near Orting, then winds its way to Puget Sound.

This is a typical stretch of highway between Orting and South Prairie. The scenery here is as idyllic as any in the Pacific Northwest. This area is far enough away from the population centers of the Northwest that it's still unspoiled.

The Veteran's Park in South Prairie where I do my work is located on the east side of town. I didn't include a shot of South Prairie...it's so small it doesn't make much of a picture. This shelter shades me from the midday sun while I work. In the late afternoon the sun comes beaming in at an angle into the shelter. Then I might move to the picnic table by the stream.

This is my favorite spot in the park. It's so pleasant and inspiring to sit and work with the rushing stream nearby. On this day the temperature was a pleasant 72 degrees while I sat and worked on my new Monster Safari children's book. I encourage you to leave your studio occasionally and find a pleasant place to work and renew your inspiration.